GEOG2025

Professor Paul Longley and Dr. Pablo Mateos

Unit Value: 0.5 units   Year 2    Term 1

Brief Course Description
This course attempts to capture and define the richness and diversity of GIS in an accessible form, and to illustrate its successful application in geodemographic analysis. It presents a clearly-defined path to a world of learning about GIS, using the Internet and closely-coupled reference sources. It investigates the use of GIS to create digital representations of the world, and reviews the potential problems and pitfalls of local neighbourhood profiling using GIS tools. The coursework uses leading GIS software alongside Google Maps and Street View to profile parts of London, using techniques that can be adapted for dissertation research.

Course Aims
After successful completion of this course, students will:
1. Understand the ways in which digital representations of the real world are created, and how representations of neighbourhood communities are built from publicly available UK data
2. Understand the nature of geographic data, and the concepts of spatial autocorrelation, modifiable areal units and the spatial structure of neighbourhoods
3. Understand the sources and operation of uncertainties in the creation of geographic representations, and the importance of generalisation, abstraction and metadata
4. Understand the guiding principles behind map design and visual communication
5. Develop practical skills in these areas, which may be useful in the planning of Dissertations

Course Content
The course will consist of approximately 10 lectures and 10 practical sessions.  Lecture topics will include:
• the relationship between geographic information (GI) systems and science
• geographic representation
• the nature of geographic data
• uncertainty in geographic representation • the evolution of neighbourhood profiling and spatial data infrastructures
• GI data assembly and analysis
• cartography and map design
• geovisualisation
The continuous assessment project will entail geodemographic profiling of London neighbourhoods using Google Maps and Street View, fieldwork in London and data resources available at www.londonprofiler.org. Additional practical exercises use ESRI Virtual Campus (campus.esri.com) material, providing students with skills in using the world's leading GIS.

Method of Teaching
Lectures and linked practicals in a weekly 3 hour slot.

Form of Assessment
(a) Unseen written examination (1 two hour paper, 60% of assessment)
(b) Written coursework and problem papers (40% of assessment)

Suggested Reading
The course text is
Longley P A, Goodchild M F, Maguire D J and Rhind D W (2011) Geographic Information Systems and Science (Third Edition). Wiley, Hoboken NJ. Multiple copies of the first two editions are also available in the library.
Reference will also be made to
De Smith M, Goodchild M F, Longley P A 2009 Geospatial analysis: a Comprehensive Guide to Principles, Techniques and Software Tools (third edition). Leicester, Troubador. An online version is available at www.spatialanalysisonline.com.
Longley P A, Goodchild M F, Maguire D J and Rhind D W (2005) Geographic Information Systems: Principles, Techniques, Management and Applications (Abridged Edition). Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Multiple copies of this are available in the library, as is the original two volume edition with the same title.